{"id":9734,"date":"2020-12-14T21:54:09","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T21:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=9734"},"modified":"2023-09-22T20:45:59","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T20:45:59","slug":"agreeance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/agreeance\/","title":{"rendered":"“Agreeance” \u2014 Meaning, Context & Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you <\/span>sometimes feel intimidated by words not typically used in everyday speech?<\/span><\/p>\n

And,  have you come<\/span> to a point wherein you doubted whether a word indeed exists in the world of languages or only in your head?<\/span><\/p>\n

If you answered “yes” to both questions, then you’re living proof that language <\/span>apparently is a living organism that thrives <\/span>along with human civilization.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read on to have an in-depth understanding of the seemingly-made up word “agreeance” and whether it is still applicable in modern-day English.<\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Table of Contents<\/strong>
\n 
\nWhat is the meaning of “agreeance”?<\/a><\/strong>
\n 
\nHow to Use Aggreance<\/a><\/strong>
\n 
\nThe Etymology of Aggreance<\/a><\/strong>
\n 
\nThe Morphology of Aggreance<\/a><\/strong>
\n 
\nCan it be conveniently used instead of “agreement”?<\/a><\/strong>
\n 
\nAggreance – Final Thoughts<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is the meaning of “agreeance”?<\/h2>\n

“Aggreance” means “agreement.” It is the obsolete form of “agreement”, referring strictly to the “state of agreement.”It was derived from the French term “agréance” <\/i>which was first used in the mid-1500s and disappeared towards the 19th century. It is hardly ever used in modern English. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The internet offers a relatively infinitesimal amount of information regarding the term “agreeance” and its usage.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is attributed to the reason that this word, <\/span>albeit existent, is hardly ever used in modern-day English.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just like words such as <\/span>quacksalver<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>beldam<\/span><\/i>, which respectively mean “fake doctor” and “witch”,<\/span> “agreeance” has also taken lexical banishment.<\/span><\/p>\n

In linguistics, the process of diachronic marking, the analysis of word usage over time, is responsible for temporally labeling word categories either as <\/span>archaic or obsolete<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Archaic and obsolete words are, <\/span>meanwhile, rarely used in modern times and are only applicable in particular contexts to achieve a specialized discursive style <\/span>or flavor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s analyze “agreeance” a little deeper by looking at its meaning, etymology, and morphology together <\/span>with examples.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How to Use “Aggreance”<\/h2>\n

According to the book Vocabulary Power For Business published in 2018, “agreeance” means being in a state of agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, it is a non-countable abstract noun that can be used to refer to the state or concept of agreement <\/span>rather than the act of agreeing.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is <\/span>also the nonstandard form of “agreement” which is usually collocated with the prepositions “in” and “with” forming the phrase <\/span>in agreeance with<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The employer and the employee are in agreeance with each other.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The usage of “agreeance” <\/span>above may be considered passable since the context leans more toward the legal use of language.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, it may cause discomfort to some audiences when the intent is less formal than in historical novels or legal texts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost two decades ago, Fred Durst, frontman of Limp Bizkit, used this word in his short speech at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Before I say the rest<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>I just really hope we are in agreeance that this war should go away as soon as possible.”<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

His usage of the word “agreeance” caught the attention of grammar pedants and resulted in some criticizing comments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously enough, the negative reaction could have been avoided if he was able to use “agreement” <\/span>instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

This kind of incident implies that outdated words, yet used out of context, may cause discomfort among readers or hearers, particularly when coming from a native language user.<\/span><\/p>\n

As “agreeance” is tagged as obsolete, using it in modern times would evoke a likely perception of illegitimacy, <\/span>no matter who is asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Etymology of “Aggreance”<\/h2>\n

“Agreeance” comes from the Old French term <\/span>agréance, <\/span><\/i>which was <\/span>first notably used in the 16th century.<\/span><\/p>\n

This word was derived from the verb <\/span>agréer, <\/span><\/i>which means “to accept.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Old French was the language used in Northern France from the eighth century up <\/span>until the 1400s.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the mid-1800s, the word “agreeance” has fallen into obsolescence, most likely because “agreement” has become more conveniently used by the masses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although “agreeance” is generally considered inaccurate by the public, the attempt to use this term in French-influenced regions and countries may be more acceptable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, the type of audience <\/span>and context should be contemplated before using this word <\/span>so as not to induce unintentional obscurity and misconception.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Morphology of “Aggreance”<\/h2>\n

“Agreeance” is the result of the morphological process called affixation, which is the attachment of bound morphemes to free morphemes.<\/span><\/p>\n

In particular<\/a>, it is derivationally formed by the suffixation of the bound morpheme <\/span>-ance <\/span><\/i>to the free morpheme <\/span>agree.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Noun derivation patterns suggest that verbs ending in <\/span>-ure, -ear, <\/span><\/i>or <\/span>-ate <\/span><\/i>are added with the suffix <\/span>-ance<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few common examples of these words are <\/span>endurance, appearance, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>relevance<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whereas, words ending in <\/span>-ere, -ent, <\/span><\/i>or <\/span>-ete <\/span><\/i>per se are added with the suffix <\/span>-ence <\/span><\/i>in deriving the noun forms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reverence, absence, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>competence <\/span><\/i>are words taking these derivational patterns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adding the suffix <\/span>-ance <\/span><\/i>to <\/span>agree <\/span><\/i>may seem morphologically odd or misshapen, <\/span>thereby denoting a malaise atmosphere to some hearers and readers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hence, to note again, caution is advised when attempting to use this word in modern times.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Can “Aggreance” be conveniently used instead of “agreement”?<\/h2>\n

For those people who are unaware of the history of “agreeance,” many would find the usage of this term <\/span>either a form of literacy gap or a quaint attempt to convey eloquence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Discretion is advised when using this word it may create likely drawbacks <\/span>despite its rather easy denotation with and without background context.<\/span><\/p>\n

It should be safe to assume that “agreeance” is <\/span>not suitably taught nor introduced to non-native English users and early childhood learners with high chances of ambiguation.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, if the intended audience or listeners are either language experts or of French origin, <\/span>then its usage would be less likely to raise any tension <\/span>or controversy.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Aggreance” — Final Thoughts<\/b><\/h2>\n

The history of “agreeance” supports the notion of language arbitrariness and recyclability.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the reaction towards or against its usage implies an increased amount of tacit knowledge among humans.<\/span><\/p>\n

The active attempt to reuse this term would seem like talking about a person who passed away a long time ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

It, in effect, makes relatives, either immediate or distant, able to show empathy and concern, <\/span>yet driving strangers to feel apathetic and nonchalant.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you sometimes feel intimidated by words not typically used in everyday speech? And,  have you come to a point wherein you doubted whether a word indeed exists in the world of languages or only in your head? If you answered “yes” to both questions, then you’re living proof that language apparently is a living …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9737,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-9734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","tag-agreeance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9734"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27454,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9734\/revisions\/27454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}